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Lot Essay
The painting and the print Toaster were made concurrently as Hamilton liked to work in different media but with the same subject matter. The series was inspired by the Braun toaster and Hamilton held its designer, Dieter Rams, in high regard. As he wrote: "My admiration for the work of Dieter Ram is intense and I have for many years been uniquely attracted towards his design sensibility; so much so that his consumer products have come to occupy a place in my heart and consciousness that the Mont Saint-Victoire did in Cezanne's."
Toaster was the first print where Hamilton combined different techniques. The grey and black background is offset print while the black casing of the toaster, the line of black shadow and Hamilton's own name are screenprinted. Hamilton compiled the text in the print from Braun's own advertising brochures modifying it to describe the technical specifications of the print itself. The same typeface favored by Braun was used throughout and the Braun logo was replaced by Hamilton's own name so that the object ceased to be a toaster or an advertisement and became a conceptual work of art.
Toaster is reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp's "readymade" as it demands to be seen as an every day commodity both for its own sake and as a fine art object.
Now in his eighties, Hamilton's interest in consumer culture and modern design and technology continues to blur the boundaries between popular culture and fine art as he still produces editions on his home computer in the English countryside.
Toaster was the first print where Hamilton combined different techniques. The grey and black background is offset print while the black casing of the toaster, the line of black shadow and Hamilton's own name are screenprinted. Hamilton compiled the text in the print from Braun's own advertising brochures modifying it to describe the technical specifications of the print itself. The same typeface favored by Braun was used throughout and the Braun logo was replaced by Hamilton's own name so that the object ceased to be a toaster or an advertisement and became a conceptual work of art.
Toaster is reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp's "readymade" as it demands to be seen as an every day commodity both for its own sake and as a fine art object.
Now in his eighties, Hamilton's interest in consumer culture and modern design and technology continues to blur the boundaries between popular culture and fine art as he still produces editions on his home computer in the English countryside.